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MAR 2015

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Page 162 of 208

The problem is that our bodies function completely
differently when we're sitting than when we're standing
up and moving around. We don't burn calories or
store fat as effciently, and our brains even function
differently during prolonged sitting. We use a different
type of energy when we're standing as opposed to
sitting, and scientists have a name for it: non-exercise
activity thermogenesis (NEAT). This energy — the type
of energy we use for daily tasks requiring movement like
taking stairs, doing laundry, shopping, etc., is the kind of
energy our bodies were designed to expend. According
to Time, when we sit most of the day, our bodies only
burn about 300 NEAT calories per day as compared to
someone like a coffee shop barista who spends most of
her shift standing/moving and burns up to 1,300 extra
NEAT calories per day.
TAKE A STAND
Despite the bad news about sitting all day, the good
news is that there's a pretty simple solution: Stand up
every hour and move for at least 10 minutes. This may
be easier said than done, but awareness is the frst step.
When you're booked with back-to-back clients, hours
can pass without you even realizing it.
"Once I realized how long I was sitting without
standing up and moving around, I rearranged my
whole system," says Debbie Escamilla of Hand to Toe
Nail Services in Merced, Calif. "Now I make sure that I
don't have everything within my reach that is necessary.
For instance, my towel cabbie is across the room from
where I do pedicures, so I need to get up at least twice
during a 45-minute pedicure."
It's also important to schedule enough time to take
breaks between clients, and ideally a longer break in
the middle of the day. It can be diffcult to do this when
you have clients who are insistent about getting in on a
particular day or time, but in the end, it's an investment
in your health and your career. Marsee Essington of
Nails by Marsee in Mount Pleasant, Pa., is aware of this
and now makes sure to take a half-hour break to walk
around the block. "I have a headset and tennis shoes,
and it takes me 15 minutes," Essington says. "I always
feel so much better after I do it. It gives me energy for
the rest of the day."
"I don't think most of us realized when we started
doing nails how it really takes a toll on our bodies," says
Kathy Dent of Salon Glow in Reno, Nev. "It's really hard
to stay ft when we sit all day, usually in a very unhealthy
position. The most important thing I do is schedule
enough time for each appointment so that I have enough
time between clients to get up and walk around a bit. I
could probably squeeze in an extra client each day, but
it's more important to take what steps we need to enable
us to keep doing this job that we love."
MARCH 2015 | NAILS MAGAZINE | 161
Over a lifetime:
In a study conducted by The American
Cancer Society, it was found that
men who spent six hours or more
per day sitting had a death rate
20% higher than those men
who sat for three hours or less
per day. For women, the death
rate for those who sat more
than six hours per day was
approximately 40% higher
than that of women who sat
three hours or less.
Here's what happens as soon as you sit down:
Electrical activity in the muscles shuts
of. Metabolism drops to only one
calorie burned per minute, about
1/3 of what it would be if you were
standing and moving around.
Within just one day:
Your risk of Type 2 diabetes rises,
as insulin efectiveness drops
24%. Your risk for obesity rises
as well; the enzymes responsible
for breaking down lipids and
triglycerides drops by 90%, which
causes the levels of good (HDL)
cholesterol to fall by 20%.
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